Orioles roll to a 5-0 start

Rocky Grove volleyball is off to a great start this season going 5-0. They have only lost three sets all season taking down Jamestown and Kennedy Catholic in straight sets. They gave up one set each to Oil City, Youngville and Commodore Perry .

"We're doing OK," said coach Mike Stevenson after his squad came back strong after a brief hiccup Thursday night against Youngsville to win in four sets. They were cruising through the first two sets winning  25-14 and 25-20. They dropped the third 24-26, but had a nice comeback to force the extra points after being down 24-20. They then came out hot in the fourth to dominate and cruise to a 25-13 set to end the match. "We have a long way to go, but we're doing OK."

"The girls are playing aggressive every night. We didn't serve well tonight, but we never took the foot off the gas," Stevenson said. 
This early streak is reminiscent of their 2021 run at the beginning of the season where they won every match before facing eventual region champ West Middlesex. A season they ended up second in the region ending with a 12-5 record, their best season in program history.

"The thing that is really standing out to me so far is they are playing like a team," Stevenson said reiterating the never quit attitude of the team. "The one that stands out to me is, we were down 24-19 on the road against Kennedy Catholic. I called a timeout and you could tell these girls were just ready to go out there and play hard and not just give up and we ended up winning that game 26-24. It say a lot about this team. They support one another and no matter what the score is they feel they have a chance to win the game."

Stevenson can look to his bench and see two full rows of players. This program is building and their JV squad is also racking up wins with some good young athletes.

The season will start to get a bit tougher. Stevenson says this weekend will be a good test to see how good they are and where they need to improve. The Orioles will play many schools in the Franklin tournament Saturday. "We're going to see some good talent there. So this is going to give us a good eye opener as to where we stand and what are going to need to work on," Stevenson said.

The Orioles will also go on the road for three tough opponents in Reynolds, West Middlesex and Lakeview. They will get a better understanding of their game from this stretch of games. "They are tough teams, but we know what our goal is."

The Grove will next be home on September 16 to face Cranberry Area.